Make Your Nest and Lay in It
by TheSilverbloodAlchemist
Summary: The learning curve from having one dragon slayer to suddenly having three is steep. Especially when the only one who seems to have all the answers is none other than than the Kurogane himself. Life in Magnolia is about to get interesting. [Drabble series revolving around the dragon slayers of Fairy Tail. Multiple POVs. Mainly Gajevy and Nalu with several other minor pairings]
1. Territorial Stare Down

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following characters, I'm just borrowing them._

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Lucy hadn't been expecting this when she left her apartment this morning.

She had thought she'd walk into the guild, hang out with her friends for a while, maybe even look for a new job so she could have some extra spending money. All in all, a normal day for the celestial mage.

Instead, Lucy walked into No Man's Land.

"What the…" the blonde said softly, looking in confusion at all the mages who were sitting by the door or on the stairs. As far as she could tell, all the tables on the main floor were empty, and there was a low rumbling coming from somewhere in the guild.

"Hey Lu!" Levy said from her spot on the stairs, waving and patting the empty spot next to her. Lucy had to shimmy her way through the tightly packed mages, but it didn't take her very long to get to the script mage's side.

"Hey Lev," she greeted, waving at Jet and Droy who were both sitting behind Levy, "what's going on?"

Levy sighed, gesturing to opposite sides of the guild. "Those two happened," she said wearily, and Lucy looked where she pointed.

The tables that she thought were empty were actually filled, but only by two people. On opposite sides of the guild sat Natsu and Gajeel, both glaring at the other with their arms crossed. Gajeel blended right into the shadows, which explained why Lucy hadn't seen him - not that she really wanted to look, she could still remember the ting of the daggers he threw at her, outlining her body in sharp iron - but Natsu's behavior baffled her.

Typically he couldn't stay still, always running around and shouting at anyone who would listen to him. He caught everyone's eyes because he was constantly moving. But he was practically invisible, sitting still and silent with a look of unmasked contempt as he glared at the other dragon slayer.

It was a little scary actually.

"So they're glaring at each other, why is everyone on the stairs?" Lucy asked, looking back at her friend. Levy simply pointed again, this time at a guild member that Lucy didn't recognize as he shakily made his way to the bar.

Which just happened to be on the opposite side of the guild. Past the two glaring dragons.

The second the poor sap stepped into their line of sight, the low rumbling grew louder and both dragons bared their teeth at the poor sap, the air charged with magic. Lucy realized with a shock that the rumbles were actually the two mages _growling_ at each other, and at the mage who ran with a sob to the bar and away from the two dragon slayers.

The second he had moved out from between the two, the growling quieted back to a low rumble and the dragon slayers went back to their staring contest.

"The hell?"

"They've been like that all day," Levy said with a sigh. "They only do it when anyone walks between them, but no one wants to risk setting them off." Lucy just gaped as Natsu shifted in his seat, his chest puffed out as if trying to look bigger. Gajeel did the same, but it was slightly more intimidating seeing as he was broad, thick muscles where Natsu was slightly more lanky.

"What are they even doing?" she asked, bewildered. "I've never seen Natsu like this!"

"Juvia agrees," the water mage cut in from where she was sitting next to Gray towards the bottom of the stairs, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "She's never seen Gajeel act like this before!"

"They're like two wild animals," Gray grouched, his chin resting in his palm.

"That's actually pretty close," Levy said, and most of the guild members siting by the door turned to look at her.

"Did you find something?" Erza asked, and Lucy noticed the book in Levy's lap for the first time. She held it up and the celestial mage took note of the dragon painted on the back of the book.

"According to this," she started, flipping through a few pages until she found the passage she was looking for, "what they're doing now is typical dragon behavior when someone new is introduced to a dragon's territory."

"But they aren't actually dragons," Jet said, looking confused. "Why would they do that?"

"They were both raised by dragons, so it makes sense that they would adopt some of their behaviors. Plus, dragon slaying magic seems to affect the body of the mage," Levy explained. "Heightened senses, stronger bodies, faster absorption of the etheron in the air. Would it be so weird that the magic affected them mentally as well? They have all the instincts a dragon would, heck, they could practically be half dragon-"

"Go back to the territory thing please," Erza said from her spot, shoving Jet and Droy carelessly out of the way so she could look at the book over the little blunette's shoulder. All the mages surrounding them shook their heads at her absent mindedness, and Levy just shot each of her teammates a concerned glance before looking back to the book.

"Well basically, when Gajeel joined the guild he entered Natsu's territory. Now they're just trying to show each other who's in charge." There was a collective "Ah" as everyone finally realized what was going down.

"Gajeel's trying to make a place for himself in Natsu's territory, and Natsu isn't cool with that," Lucy summed up for Gray, who had only grown more confused at Levy's explanation.

"So this is the dragon version of whipping it out and measuring?"

"If you want to be crude about it, yeah."

Gray scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Idiots, the both of them."

"Ain't that the truth," Cana grumbled from where she was sitting on the rail. "I need my beer damnit!"

"Cana's right," Era said, standing. "There's been quite enough of this." With that, she stepped over all the mages that were on the steps and started towards Natsu. The whole guild seemed to collectively hold their breath as she stepped up to his table, a dark aura around her as she stood tall, arms crossed over her chest.

Natsu and Gajeel growled louder at the intrusion, but both abruptly cut off when the reequip mage yanked Natsu out of his seat by his ear. Everyone looked on in shocked silence as she dragged him towards the other dragon slayer, the only sounds being the metallic clanking of her armour and Natsu's loud complaining at being manhandled.

When she reached Gajeel's table, she dropped the fire dragon slayer on the opposite side of the table, glaring at the both of them. "You two have disturbed everyone's day long enough," she said lowly, her voice threatening. "You two are free to have your territorial stare down, but either have it in a way that does not disturb the rest of the guild or take it outside. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" Natsu said quickly, shaking in his seat at the quiet show of authority and anger. Gajeel, who had only seen the Titania during the battle between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail and thus did not know the explosiveness that her anger truly contained, simply scoffed.

The scoff turned into a yelp - which had several of the mages on the steps sniggering and the others staring in shock - when Erza grabbed Gajeel's head, pulling roughly on his hair until he was forced to look her in the eye.

"_Am I clear?_" Erza repeated, tightening her fist until Gajeel choked out a "Y-yes!"

"Good," Erza said calmly, releasing her grip on him and walking away without another word. Gajeel stared after her, still in shock, until Natsu laughed at his frightened expression. They were back to growling and glaring within a heartbeat, but most of Fairy Tail was ignoring them now as they went back to their tables. Levy and Lucy stayed on the stairs as the crowd pushed past them, watching Erza as she sat at the bar next to a relieved Cana and ordered a slice of cake.

"I don't think it matters who wins their little glare off," Lucy whispered to Levy with a grin, gesturing towards the table that everyone was giving a wide berth to. "We all know who's really in charge."

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_Not gonna lie, this fic is just me wanting to get all my headcanons out into the world. _

_Anyways! This fic is gonna focus mainly on the dragon slayers (all seven of them) and their relationship with each other. There will also be a LOT of headcanons. Both about individual characters (all your Gajeel headcanons are belong to us) and the dragon slayers as a whole, all of which will be explored more in future chapters. All the drabbles will be in sequential order unless otherwise noted. _

_Updates will be sporadic at best since I am in fact a college student, but since these chapters are gonna be so short, it hopefully won't be too bad. _

_Please review, and feel free to message me if you have any questions!_

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	2. Time Out Table

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following characters, I'm just borrowing them._

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Gajeel and Natsu's fighting had become popular spectator sport following the territory issue. Not their physical fights, because those typically ended up involving half the guild anyways, but their verbal fights.

It was fun to watch and see who could come up with the dumbest name for the other.

"Volcano breath!"

"Lightning fodder!"

"STRAWBERRY!"

"TAKE THAT BACK!"

"Strawberry, really?" Lucy said with a laugh, shaking her head at the two dragons. They were sitting at what had been titled their "Time Out Table" where Erza would put them whenever their fighting got too out of control.

"Does 'Strawberry' beat 'Magnet Whore'?" Levy asked, not looking up from her book. Lucy just laughed.

"My favorite is still 'Firecrotch'," she admitted, making the script mage snort loudly."Is that the same book you were reading the other day?" Lucy asked, leaning over to get a better look at the large tome.

"Yup!" Levy closed the book, one finger holding her place as she showed Lucy the cover.

"_'Living in the Nest'_?"

"Yeah, its the account of a man who lived 5 years in a dragons' nest," Levy explained. "It's a fairly old book, but it's the most accurate in terms of information on dragons. It's actually really fascinating!"

Just when Lucy was about to ask to see the book and maybe find out if Natsu's constant breaking into her apartment was a dragon thing, the yelling from the Time Out Table got too loud to ignore.

"I WOULD!"

"NO, I WOULD!"

"NO, _I_ WOULD!"

_"NO-"_

Everyone in the guild hall seemed to scream "SHUT UP!" at the same time, making the two dragon slayers snap their mouths shut immediately. Lucy giggled at their absurd behavior and Levy just shook her head, a bright smile on her lips. Her eyes seemed to linger on Gajeel for a moment, eyebrows bunching together in confusion, and Lucy quietly nudged Levy's side.

"You okay?" she asked softly, prepared to lead Levy out of the guild hall and to somewhere safe and away from the ex-Phantom mage. Levy shook her head, smiling wryly at her friend.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about something." Lucy tried to ask what was wrong, but was cut off by a clearly aggravated Natsu falling into the seat next to her, sinking until the top of his head barely reached her shoulder. "Erza let you go?" Levy asked, eagerly jumping on the change of topic.

"She said that if 'you're were done growling like wild dogs you can go back to your tables if you'll stop fighting'," the dragon slayer said with a sneer, speaking in a high falsetto when he was relaying what the reequip mage had said to him. "Not like it's my fault! Rustcrotch started it!"

"I HEARD THAT!"

Natsu growled loudly, making to stand up, but one look from Erza had him back in his chair.

Lucy and Levy laughed, the script mage almost to the point of crying, at the new nickname that they both decided was their new favorite. "What were you two even fighting about?" Lucy asked once she had calmed down enough to get her sentence out.

"Gajeel said that he'd make a better Drake than me," Natsu growled, his shoulders hunching up and his cheeks puffing out almost comically. Lucy quirked her head to the side in confusion, ignoring how Levy looked back over at Gajeel with wide eyes.

"And that would be?" she asked, waving her hand in circles to encourage Natsu to keep going.

"I mean what the hell!?" Natsu said instead, Lucy's question going in one ear and out the other. "He's a selfish bastard! He doesn't have the protective instinct that a Drake needs! 'It's in my blood', what kind of bullshit is that- YOU'RE ADOPTED, ASSHOLE!"

_"NATSU I WILL BREAK YOUR FACE!"_

Natsu jumped when Erza yelled at him from the bar, sinking lower into his seat until she could only see the top of his shaking head. Lucy rolled her eyes, bopping the top of the dragon slayer's head. "Natsu, focus," she said calmly, "what's a Drake? It's a type of dragon, right?"

"Nah, that's a common mistake to make," Natsu said, sitting all the way back up in his seat so he could look Lucy in the eye as he answered her. "The Drake is the dragon who leads and protects the nest. They're kinda like the guild master. They hafta look after all the dragons, and Gajeel wouldn't do that for anyone besides himself."

Lucy could actually feel the awkward silence that came from across the table, and looked up to see Levy biting her lower lip nervously, playing with her fingers. "Lev?" she asked gently, and Levy's head snapped up to meet her eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm…" she trailed off, looking over her shoulder at the iron dragon slayer in the opposite side of the guild. He was drinking by himself, not looking up from the tabletop. Lucy couldn't help but feel a small pang of sadness for him. He looked so lonely.

"That's not exactly true, Natsu," Levy said, bringing Lucy's attention back to her. "Yesterday, Jet and Droy… well they tried to get back at Gajeel for what he did."

"Oh my god! Are they okay?" Lucy asked, looking around for the other two members of Shadow Gear, a confused sound coming out of her mouth when she found them both, unharmed, sitting and drinking with Wakaba and Macao.

"That's the thing, Gajeel didn't fight back!" Levy continued, clearly relieved to let this all off her chest. "He just took it! And then Laxus showed up-"

"Laxus is back?" Natsu asked excitedly over Lucy's gasp, practically bouncing in his chair.

"Yeah, but he was acting weird," Levy continued, looking down at the table. Lucy noticed that the script mage's hands had started to shake, and reached over to lay her own hand over one of Levy's. Levy smiled gratefully at her. "Anyways, he joined the fight, yelling about how Gajeel had made Fairy Tail a laughing stock. He just kept slamming Gajeel's head into the ground, over and over and over-"

"Levy," the celestial mage interrupted gently, shaking Levy out of her memories. The bluenette took a deep breath, nodding to indicate that she was okay.

"We yelled for him to stop," she continued, her voice barely a whisper, "he was going too far. And then Laxus got angry and… and he fired one of his lightning attacks at us. Me, specifically." Both Lucy and Natsu gasped, looking at Levy with wide eyes. "I could feel the power from across the park, that shot would have killed me, but…"

"But?" Natsu asked, hanging on her every word. Levy met his eyes, and Lucy was surprised by the conflict she could see in her eyes.

"Gajeel took the attack instead," she said, almost like she couldn't figure it out herself. "He was so fast, I barely saw him move. After that, he just walked away." She took another deep breath. "Gajeel saved my life."

Lucy and Natsu both sat there in shocked silence, unable to decide if Laxus attacking Levy was more shocking than Gajeel protecting the little mage. They watched in continued silence as Levy, with a determined expression, grabbed her bag and started heading towards the opposite side of the guild.

As the little script mage made her way to Gajeel's table, more and more people noticed her. By the time she got to his table, everyone was silently watching, ready to jump up and defend Levy if Gajeel should make a wrong move. The iron dragon slayer for his part looked up at Levy with a deer-in-the-headlights look - complete with full mouth - that Lucy would have found hilarious if she wasn't still in shock.

"Hey," Levy said, smiling slightly. If the guild hadn't been so quiet, Lucy wouldn't have been able to hear the quiet word, but the sound traveled so well across the silent room that it sounded like Levy hadn't moved from across the table.

Gajeel swallowed thickly, coughing quietly before looking behind him, as if looking to see if someone had taken the seat next to him (they hadn't) and the bluenette was talking to them instead of him (she wasn't). Lucy almost had to laugh as he straightened up, looking Levy up and down warily. "Uh… hey," he said, his voice a low rumble compared to Levy's high clear voice.

Lucy could see that Levy's hands were shaking, but she just gripped the strap of her bag tighter. "How did your mission go?"

"I uh, ended up not going. Had to go home and clean up from the, uh… the fight." Gajeel looked so painfully awkward and Lucy really shouldn't be thinking that it was cute how he seemed so awkward around a girl nearly a third his size. Natsu was still in shock next to her.

"And your wounds?" Levy continued, looking more at ease the longer she stood in front of Gajeel and he didn't suddenly leap out at her teeth bared. "How are they healing?"

"Uuuuuuh, good?"

"Well um, I have this burn salve from the last time I got injured on a mission," Levy said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a round metal tin, playing with it distractedly. "I figured you need it more than I do. I got some bandages too, if you need those."

The guild hall shifted its attention to Gajeel like they were watching a tennis match, and the metaphorical ball was in his court. He looked at Levy for a few moments, as if expecting her to throw the tin at his face and laugh at him for falling for her sweet act. But she didn't, she just smiled at him shyly, and someone coughed loudly to snap him out of his thoughts. Immediately the shocked expression was gone and his typical scowl was back as he thrust his arm out. Lucy could see the burn marks from all the way across the guild hall, and somewhere Mirajane made a small noise of concern.

"Well?" Gajeel grumbled, looking away from Levy as he held his arm out further. "Put the shit on then!" Levy jumped slightly, eyes widening in realization.

"Oh, uh, right!" She moved closer, only hesitating for a moment before sitting next to the dragon slayer. Levy immediately got to work, handling his wound with all the care she would have shown Jet or Droy.

Knowing the show was over, most of the Fairy Tail mages got back to their previous conversations, some with slightly brighter smiles at seeing the Kurogane's iron shell cracked, even for a moment.

But Lucy kept watching her best friend as she carefully smoothed the salve over Gajeel's arm, seemingly oblivious to the iron mage's stare. She said something, but Lucy could no longer hear it over the loud din that Fairy Tail was famous for.

"Crap, what did she say?" the celestial mage asked Natsu, who was also still focused on the two mages across the room.

"She said 'Thank you'," Natsu relayed, and held up his finger when Lucy opened her mouth. "Gajeel said, 'Just be careful next time Shorty'."

"Wow," Lucy said softly looking at the two with a grin. "Who would've guessed, huh?"

Natsu just continued watching his fellow dragon slayer, eyebrows bunched together in confusion.

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	3. The Hellspawn and the Backscratcher

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following characters, I'm just borrowing them._

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Fantasia had been a complete success, even if Natsu still felt like he had shoved his dick in an electrical outlet.

Wait, no, bad metaphor. He didn't want to put his dick anywhere _near_ Laxus.

Shuddering at the horrifying mental images that followed that strange thought, Natsu continued to make his way to the field at the end of the parade route where all of the floats had been parked. Someone had set up a tent where everyone could change out of their costumes, and he could hear Jet begging Droy to help him out of the caterpillar costume that he had been forced into by Mirajane earlier that day.

Normally he would have gone over to laugh at the unfortunate Speed mage, maybe even help a brother out by burning the costume off him - shut up it would totally work - but he had another goal in mind.

And that goal was currently sitting on the edge of Lucy's float, looking bored.

Gajeel looked only a little better off than Natsu did, though at least Natsu didn't have to use a crutch. He had turned his right hand into a thin piece of iron and was using it to try and scratch under his cast, and Natsu almost laughed. They both acted so tough and powerful, but Natsu was basically the hellspawn of a lighter and a can of hairspray and Gajeel was a highly destructive backscratcher.

...Okay, maybe Mirajane was right and he _did_ have a concussion.

Nah, screw that. Could a concussed person craft those gorgeous flaming letters with his mouth? Natsu thinks not!

Natsu kept walking over to Gajeel, trying not to look like he was imagining Gajeel as a literal backscratcher, but stopped when Gajeel looked up and saw him approaching. "Unless you've got booze or pain killers hiding in that butt-ugly cast of yours," he started flatly, "don't bother. I'm feeling too shitty to fight with you right now."

"Nah, I didn't come to start a fight," Natsu said, sitting on the steps that led up to the float platform. His shoulder was nearly touching Gajeel's knee, and he felt oddly comfortable with that. Like how it felt when he and Gray were actually getting along.

It was nice.

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes while they watched different guild members scurry around, cleaning up the various floats as best as they could. More floats than usual had survived this year, though Mirajane's float had been totally smashed - which any guild member with half a brain would _not_ mention - and the float Macao and Wakaba had been on with Cana was covered in various scorch marks and smelled overwhelmingly of alcohol and smoke. Natsu had seen them all taking shots together before the parade so this wasn't exactly a surprise.

He snuck a look at Gajeel, watching him watch a particular Solid Script mage try to tug the caterpillar head off her teammate's thick skull. He snorted, once again tempted to go over and offer his own fiery brand of help.

… Fine, so Natsu just wanted to see that damn caterpillar costume up in flames. He had been the one forced into it last year and he still had nightmares.

"You're real subtle," Natsu teased, watching Gajeel's adam apple start bobbing like mad.

"I will kick your ass onto the ground Salamander, don't think I won't."

"Calm down Metalhead, I was just joking."

Gajeel huffed, pointedly looking away from both Natsu and Levy. The younger Dragon Slayer let him have a few seconds before he asked "Why?"

"... Gotta be more specific," Gajeel grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck wearily.

"Why did you take that hit for me, at the Cathedral?" Natsu continued, looking away from the stunned mage beside him to watch as Remus started to undo the magic that held each float together, each disappearing onto a sheet of paper in a swirl of colors.

What, you thought Makarov would actually be willing to spend all the money each float would cost for a one night event that only happened annually? With Fairy Tail's reputation for wrecking shit? _Ha!_

The silence that fell between the two Dragon Slayers was heavy, but neither moved away from the other. Natsu wanted to know what had prompted a guy who hated his guts to risk his life for him. If he still felt like he had punched a generator, then he could only imagine what Gajeel - who was made of _fucking metal_ - must be feeling like.

If it had been Gray, Natsu would have understood. Their personalities and magic clashed more often than not, but they had grown up together. Gray was his brother in every way but blood, same with the other third-gen Fairies.

But he'd known Gajeel for a month, less even. What the fuck had he been thinking when he took that hit?

"We're dragons," Gajeel started quietly, making Natsu focus all his attention to the older Dragon Slayer. "And we may be the only one's left. We have to look out for each other. It's what we do."

"... Laxus doesn't count?"

Gajeel snorted, but it wasn't a mean sound. "Laxus is a fake. We're the real deal."

Natsu looked up at Gajeel for a few moments, both in shock that the gruff Dragon Slayer could be so damn eloquent and to see if he was pulling his leg. But Gajeel just rested his chin in his palm, looking thoughtful.

"I see…" Natsu said, trailing off as he looked off into the distance with Gajeel. He couldn't stop the wide grin from appearing on his face however, and Gajeel snorted again, the corner of his mouth quirking up in the closest thing Natsu had ever seen to a genuine smile on the Iron Dragon Slayer. "Do you think there could be room in the sky for two dragons?"

"As long as you remember who has the longer wingspan, Hatchling."

"Hatch-what?"

"Right," Gajeel groaned, "I forgot you grew up with a hermit." Natsu brushed the insult off, not willing to ruin the easy conversation they had somehow managed to maintain.

"Well!" he said, pushing himself up with his good arm, stretching out his back. "That's all I really wanted to know. I better go make sure Mirajane didn't take the opportunity to try dressing Happy up in other stupid outfits." Gajeel waved him off easily, going back to scratching under his cast. Natsu took a few steps away before stopping. "I take it back," he started, looking over his shoulder.

Gajeel looked up at him, one pierced brow arched high as he waited for the younger Dragon Slayer to finish his thought. "You would make a pretty good Drake," Natsu said with a wide grin, giving Gajeel a thumbs up.

He felt proud at his ability to render the other mage speechless, his jaw nearly scraping the ground. But after a few seconds, the strangest thing happened.

Gajeel smiled.

A bright, genuine smile that almost looked out of place on a face that was all sharp angles and reflective metal. The mages in the immediate area, who had been watching the oddly peaceful exchange curiously and trying to make out what they were saying, all came to dead halt to stare in shock. Natsu was pretty sure he saw Levy's knees buckle as Juvia tried to catch her.

"You think so?" Gajeel said, rubbing the back of his neck again. He looked much younger when he did that, less like a former member of Phantom Lord and more like a Fairy Tail mage. Like a brother.

"Yeah, I do," Natsu agreed. He let Gajeel have a few more seconds to reveal in the praise before his grin turned wicked. "Too bad you'll never get the chance!"

"What!?"

"There's only two of us, Metalhead!" Natsu cackled, walking backwards so he could properly watch Gajeel's grin turn into a snarl. "You need three dragons for a nest! You're shit outta luck!"

"I can still boss you around Salamander!"

"Yeah right! I'm older!"

"I'm twenty, you dick!"

Natsu shrugged, laughing loudly. "Tell you what, if we find another Dragon Slayer, I'll go easy on you when we fight for it!" Gajeel was past words at this point, just making strangling motions with his hands and growling loudly. "But really-"

"What's the chance of another Dragon Slayer showing up?"

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_Take a wild guess at who's gonna show up next chapter ;P._

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	4. A Nest Needs a Drake (I)

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following characters, I'm just borrowing them._

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Wendy _loved_ Fairy Tail, and she had only been here for a few hours. She loved the guild hall, with it's warm wood furniture and the soft fabrics that hung from the ceiling or ran along the floor. She loved everyone in the guildhall and how genuinely happy they all seemed just to be among friends. She loved their willingness to party and to celebrate life, and how easily they had accepted her into their family.

But what she loved most of all was that she wasn't alone anymore.

Wendy wasn't the only Dragon Slayer anymore! There were other people who had been what she had been what she had been through, to learn from and support. Natsu was already very dear to her, with his bright easy grin and his carefree attitude. And though she hadn't met him yet, the Sky Maiden was sure that this Gajeel person would be just as kind and warm!

But despite all the people that she had been introduced to so far by the various members of the guild - Mirajane had quickly taken her under her wing and started to tell her everything about everyone until Lucy had come and saved her - "Gajeel" wasn't one of them. She grew more and more worried as the minutes ticked by, her smile becoming more of a worried twitch of the lips as her thoughts started to race. Maybe he wasn't here today, or was off on an important job? What if he was here, but just didn't want to meet her? What if he had already decided not to like her!?

Wendy was trying to keep from hyperventilating - even for a girl who ate air, that was never fun - when Lucy came back over, another young woman with short blue hair next to her. "Sorry I took so long!" Lucy said happily, not noticing Wendy's momentary panic. "I got started talking Levy and time just got away from me!"

"Oh, it's fine!" Wendy said with a little shaky smile, looking over at Levy. "It's nice to meet you Miss Levy."

"The pleasure is all mine," Levy said with a warm smile as she sat down next to the youngest Dragon Slayer. "How are you doing? Fairy Tail can be a bit… much, the first few times you hang out here," she said, laying a hand on Wendy's shoulder. The little girl decided right away that she liked Levy, and smiled back.

"I'm fine, really!" she reassured, ignoring Charle's little scoff and complaint about how wild all the Fairies were. "Just a little nervous."

"Nervous about what?" Lucy asked, sitting on Wendy's other side.

"Well," Wendy started, pushing her pointer fingers together nervously, "everyone keeps talking about this other Dragon Slayer, but I haven't met him yet…"

Much to her surprise, both women snorted, Levy rolling her eyes. "That's just Gajeel, he's not very social," she explained, a fond undertone to her words. "Though I'm surprised he didn't rush down when he heard you were a Dragon Slayer as well."

"Maybe he's just shy?" Wendy asked innocently.

The two older mages looked at her for a few moments before turning to share a look. And then they started to crack up laughing, Levy actually doubling over clutching her stomach. Wendy waited patiently for them to finish, exchanging a look with Charle over their seemingly random fit of insanity.

"Gajeel, shy!" Lucy said between laughs, wiping tears of mirth from the corner of her eyes. "Jeeze, I'm almost don't want to introduce them anymore! Let her continue to live in oblivious bliss."

"I'll do it," Levy said once she had stopped laughing, standing and offering her hand to Wendy. "Knowing him, he's probably sulking around upstairs."

"Do you know Gajeel well, Levy?" Wendy asked as she let the older blunette lead her by the hand, Charle flying after them. Levy smiled over her shoulder at the two as she lead them to the second level of Fairy Tail, where the lighting was much softer and the volume much lower.

"We have a shared history," she replied cryptically, and Wendy exchanged a look with her partner, Wendy silently trying to tell Charle not to press the issue. Levy let go of her hand at some point, but Wendy stayed close, feeling more and more apprehensive as they delved further into the darker upper level. It was definitely a more subdued side of Fairy Tail, and Wendy made a note to come up here whenever it was just too much downstairs.

"Gajeel!" Levy called, snapping Wendy out of her thoughts. "So this is where you've been hiding!" Wendy looked ahead, and almost immediately hid behind Levy's leg.

He. Was. _Huge._

Half of him was hidden in the shadows, but Wendy could already tell that he was several times her height and size, with thick corded muscles stretched across his folded arms. There were piercings running up both of his arms, along with large pale scars, and Wendy immediately decided she didn't want to know where he got those scars.

"What d'ya want, shrimp?" His voice was deep and sonorous, like gravel rolling down your throat, and Wendy didn't know if she should be comforted or terrified by how much he sounded like a dragon. All of the ones she had met in the fuzzy memories of her time with Grandeeney had all had deep, booming voices. One dragon in particular had a voice like metal grinding together, and she remembered the day that he came more clearly than almost any of the others that came to request her mother's healing magic.

"I want to introduce you to someone, since you're too shy to do it yourself," Levy said teasingly, and Gajeel scoffed. Wendy yelped softly when the older mage laid a hand on her lower back, gently pushing her forward. "This is Wendy, she met Natsu and his team during the Nirvana incident and joined the guild today. She's a Dragon Slayer, just like you."

"So I heard," he said, pushing away from the pillar he had been leaning against - oh god he was even taller than she first thought! - and stepping closer to the two blunettes and into the light. Wendy finally got a good look at his face, and she almost felt like crying.

He looked so scary! So unlike the happy Natsu, Gajeel's features were sharp and made for scowling. His hair was slicked back from his face and fell down his back like an oil spill, and his red eyes were the kind you'd expect to see waiting to pounce on you in the dark. There were more piercings on his face, and Wendy wanted to run back downstairs to the warmth and joy of the party downstairs.

"I-it's nice to m-meet you," Wendy said, bowing shakily. Gajeel just watched her for a few moments, his expression a cross of boredom and slight amusement at her obvious discomfort.

"Didn't yer dragon ever teach ya how to properly introduce yerself to another dragon?" he rumbled, and Wendy froze.

She liked to think she was a fairly calm person, but she wanted to scream and cry at the older Dragon Slayer. How dare he insinuate that Grandeeney didn't give anything but her all when raising Wendy!? Wendy couldn't remember her birth parents, it was always Grandeeney who was there for her, even if those memories were also a little fuzzy. It was Grandeeney who taught her how to walk, how to talk and read, how to find the freshest fruits when she was too young to eat meat. She was the one who helped Wendy control her magic, that taught her how to heal the sick and injured and to support her comrades.

So yeah, maybe Grandeeney had disappeared before she got the chance to teach Wendy the language of the dragons, or any of her more powerful offensive moves, but she had left Wendy with the knowledge of how to survive.

While she stood frozen, her little fists shaking, Wendy missed Gajeel's slight look of panic as he watched the younger girl fume silently and Levy's glare at the older Dragon Slayer, one hip cocked as she gave him a look that screamed_ "Apologize. Now."_

Wendy was about to turn around on her heel, never to come back up to the second floor or around the scary Dragon Slayer again, when Gajeel took another step closer, dropping down into a crouch in front of her. She stood up straight in shock, shrinking a bit when she realized that she was now at eye level with the older dragon. He leaned forward a bit, close enough that Wendy, her dragon senses still a little underdeveloped, could smell him easily. She stood there for a few moments, afraid to make the first move, until Gajeel nodded at her.

"Well come on," he said, softening his voice until it was a low rumble. "Ya' gotta learn at some point. Take a whiff." Charle and Levy exchanged confused looks behind the two Dragon Slayers, but Wendy's eyes widened slightly. She vaguely remembered Grandeeney first sniffing at any new dragon that came around before letting them anywhere near her daughter, and understood what Gajeel was trying to do.

Wendy leaned a little closer, the older Dragon Slayer staying perfectly still as she shyly sniffed at the air around him, watching her patiently. He smelled like metal and earth, the slight hint of his soap barely enough to cover the smell of his magic. It was a surprisingly clean scent, instantly calming Wendy and grounding her. She closed her eyes, taking a longer inhale and focusing her senses, just like Grandeeney had taught her.

She could hear his heart beating, a loud _thump-thump_ that beat slow and steady. The heat rolling off of him wasn't as hot as Natsu's, but it was there and comforting. She could smell no malice off of him, only calm interest and maybe a bit of worry. When she opened her eyes back up, Gajeel's mouth was turned up in the corners, the small smile instantly softening his features.

"Better?" he asked,Wendy smiled back shyly, nodding back at Gajeel.

"Better," she replied, giggling softly. Gajeel held his large hand out in front of him, and without any hesitation Wendy put her hand in his. His hand dwarfed hers and his hold was firm, but gentle as he bowed his head to her in a movement that was becoming more familiar the clearer her memories became.

"If ya need anything," Gajeel said, "feel free to ask. Just for the love the god, don't go to Salamander." Wendy only felt a little guilty that she laughed, Gajeel's unique laugh rumbling with hers.

"Oh, I need to introduce you to Charle!" Wendy said excitedly, her previous fear of the older Dragon Slayer forgotten as she grabbed one of his hands with both of hers, tugging him up. She turned around to motion Charle over, only to find both Charle and Levy standing slack jawed a few feet away, the white cat's wings disappearing as she fell to the ground in shock.

"Um, wow," Levy said slowly, blinking rapidly as she looked at Gajeel, who was looking rather amused at their shock. "Well! I'm glad you two are getting along!"

"Worried, Shrimp?" Gajeel said, gently pulling his hand out of Wendy's grasp so he could cross his arms over his chest. His tone was teasing, like Levy's had been earlier, and Wendy wondered if maybe they had a love thing going on. She'd ask Mirajane about it later.

"Of course not," Levy said, smiling, "I had complete confidence in you."

"Liar."

"Okay, I was a little worried," Levy admitted, and Gajeel smirked.

"Prepare to be worried again," he said cryptically, heading towards the balcony that looked over the first floor of the guild. All three girls looked at him in confusion, the wicked grin on his face sending shivers down Levy's spine. That look couldn't mean anything good.

"Gajeel, what are you-"

"_HEY SALAMANDER!_" Gajeel yelled, his loud voice easily carrying to where Natsu was about to start a fight with Gray. The other Dragon Slayer immediately looked up, punching Gray in the face without faltering.

"I'm a little busy here Metalhead!" Natsu yelled back. "What do you want?"

"You know what Girlie being here means?" Gajeel continued, ignoring Wendy's question of "_Girlie_?"

"He gives everyone nicknames," Levy whispered in response. "Just be thankful your's isn't 'Shrimp', 'Shorty', or 'Bookworm'."

"What does it mean?" Natsu looked genuinely curious now, along with half of the guild. Wendy could see Makarov sitting on the bar, looking like he was about to have a heart attack, and remembered how Lucy had told her that Natsu tended to get a little overenthusiastic and had a record of property damage.

"It means that we've got enough for a nest," the iron Dragon Slayer said, his grin widening as the guild went silent. Natsu's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates before an equally as wicked grin stretched across his lips, the young man shifting his weight from foot to foot eagerly.

"A nest needs a Drake," he said almost casually, cracking his knuckles. Wendy could feel the heat rising from all the way across the guild, and though part of her wanted to get out of the way, a deeper, instinctual part of her knew that what was about to go down would affect her life tremendously. "You sure you wanna challenge me?" Natsu continued, smirking. "Remember what happened last time we fought? You lost. Horribly."

"As much as I would love to make ya eat those words, we ain't fighting," Gajeel said, rolling his eyes at the other Dragon Slayer. " 'Least not like that."

Wendy had to giggle when she heard Makarov sob in relief from the bar, a perfect contrast to Natsu's confused and disappointed expression. "Well then, how are we gonna do it?" he asked, hands on his hips. Wendy looked up at Gajeel, also curious to find out what they were doing, and watched as he grinned again eagerly.

"We're doin' this the _traditional_ way, Salamander."

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_This is gonna be a two-parter, but I'm gonna write a quick Christmas fic first. That's gonna be posted separately, but I hope you'll still check it out! The next chapter is hopefully gonna be up before the spring semester starts._

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_silv3rbloodalch3mist . tumblr . com_


	5. A Nest Needs a Drake (II)

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following characters, I'm just borrowing them._

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There was a new purpose to Gajeel's steps when they followed him down the stairs and out of the guild hall, Natsu following after him with an eager smirk. Levy couldn't help but notice how much bigger Gajeel seemed, with his long strides and pulled back shoulders.

He walked as if there was no way he could lose, like he had been preparing for this for most of his life.

Most of Fairy Tail followed after the two Dragon Slayers, their curiosity peaked by Gajeel's cryptic response. Besides, any showdown between him and Natsu was sure to be a good show, and Levy could already hear people making bets. Jet and Droy were amongst them, Jet betting on Natsu and Droy betting against, but instead of joining them like she normally would Levy was staying by Wendy's side.

The young Slayer was holding her Exceed tightly in her arms, trailing behind Natsu and Gajeel like a puppy, and Levy would have found it adorable if Wendy didn't look half in a daze. She clearly had no clue what Gajeel had meant, but even Levy could tell that what was about to happen would affect _all_ of the Dragon Slayers.

Gajeel threw open the doors to the back courtyard, sunlight blinding the mages that were following him, but he and Natsu pressed on. If either of them had noticed that the majority of Fairy Tail were trailing after them, they didn't say anything. They made their way to a large patch of grass that Makarov had asked for specifically for showdowns between mages, hoping to lessen the property Fairy Tail was subjected to on a near daily basis.

Not that anyone ever really used it, but hey, the thought was there.

"Do you know what Gajeel was talking about?" Lucy asked as she came over to the two blunettes, watching Natsu warily. Levy just shook her head. "Darn. Anyways, how did it go with Wendy?"

At this, Levy lit up. "It went _great_!" she said, clapping her hands together. "You won't even believe it, Gajeel is actually really good with-"

"Alright!" Gajeel said loudly, catching everyone's attention and making Levy fall silent. He and Natsu had made their way to the center of the field, and everyone had made a large circle around them. "Let's get this started. Girlie, you wanna try for Drake?"

"What's a Drake?"

"I'll take that as a no," Gajeel said with a sigh, rubbing his jaw.

"Enough stalling!" Natsu said, cracking his knuckles. "Tell me what this 'traditional way' thing is and let's go!" Levy could see the steam rolling off of Natsu, the younger Dragon Slayer bouncing impatiently. He looked like his birthday and Christmas had come early, which was probably fairly accurate. But there was something in him that was missing. The quiet confidence that Gajeel had wasn't there in the fire Dragon Slayer.

If Levy was a betting woman, in that moment she would have put all of her money on Gajeel. His eyes were burning with the look of a man who wouldn't accept defeat.

Gajeel crossed his arms, tilting his head. "Ya' really wanna know, Salamander?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Ya' sure?"

"Yes!"

"Ya' _really_ sure?"

"_Gajeel_!" The iron Dragon Slayer laughed, smirking at Natsu's red face. Several other mages had started to laugh at his ability to rile Natsu up, Levy included, and Lucy shot her an amused look.

"Alright, alright," Gajeel said, holding his hands up in surrender. "The way we're gonna do this, is we're gonna roar."

The silence that followed his statement clearly just amused the iron Dragon Slayer more.

"We're gonna what?" Natsu asked dumbfounded, his once raised fists dropping to his sides limply. Gajeel shrugged, arms once again crossed.

"We're gonna roar. The Drake is the dragon with the loudest roar." The rest of Fairy Tail started to murmur, some clearly disappointed that they weren't gonna see the two Dragon Slayers beat the crap out of each other.

"That's it!?"

"That's it," Gajeel confirmed with a nod, one corner of his lip curled up in a smirk. "Wanna give up now?"

"You kidding me?" Natsu said, perking back up like nothing had happened. "Now it's gonna be even easier to beat you at this stupid contest!" Levy immediately noticed every line in Gajeel's body tense up when Natsu said the words "stupid contest", and turned to Lucy, nudging her arm.

"Hey, if Gajeel wins, I get a sneak peek at your novel," she said lowly and with a small grin. Lucy quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I thought you didn't gamble?" she asked, and Levy's grin turned into a smirk.

"This isn't a gamble."

She heard Wendy giggle at her words, and when she turned back to look at the center of the field, Gajeel was grinning at her. Crap, she had forgotten about the super hearing that all Dragon Slayers had. Her cheeks heated up with a blush, and Gajeel's grin widened before he turned back to Natsu.

"Well I'm ready when you are, Metalhead!" Natsu called tauntingly, clearly trying to get a rise out of his opponent. Gajeel just smirked.

"Speedy!" he barked out, pointing at Jet.

"My name is-"

"Run to the edge of town, and when we're done come back and tell us which roar was louder," the Dragon Slayer instructed, cutting off the speed mage's protest. Jet turned to Droy with a confused look before sighing.

"Well, how will I know whose roar is who's?" he asked, and the look that Gajeel gave him was so unamused that Levy had bite her lip to keep from laughing.

"And let ya' rig the results? Just come back when we're done," he said, and turned back to Natsu in a clear dismissal. Jet looked over at Levy, gesturing at Gajeel while mouthing "_Is he serious?_". Levy shrugged, tilting her head towards the edge of the city.

"_Better get running_," she mouthed back, and Jet groaned loudly before taking off. They gave him three minutes before the two dragons stopped with their smack talk, both falling eerily silent along with the rest of the guild.

"Ya' wanna go first Salamander?" Gajeel asked, putting his hands low on his hips. Levy could feel the tension in the air, and next to her Wendy was knotting her fingers in Charle's fur nervously.

"If you insist," Natsu said with a large grin, moving his feet shoulder width apart. He took a deep breath, and after a moment, let it out in a loud roar. Most of the mages covered their ears with a cry, including Levy and Lucy. Wendy winced, reaching out and gripping onto Levy's leg.

The roar lasted only for about ten seconds, but when it was done Levy's ears were ringing. She looked down at Wendy, eyebrows creasing in concern when the little girl just pressed closer to her leg with a whimper.

"Girlie," Gajeel called out, and Levy was surprised to see unmasked concern in his eyes. "Ya' good?" Wendy nodded bashfully, letting go of Charle to cover up her ears.

"Ready," she said, and Gajeel smirked.

"Good." Gajeel looked back at Natsu with a smirk. "You're about to hear a real dragon roar."

Gajeel mimicked Natsu's stance, one foot behind him as he took a deep breath. The whole guild seemed silent for a beat, and then Gajeel's mouth opened and the earth _shook_.

Where Natsu's roar had driven mages to cover their ears, Gajeel's drove mages to their knees. Levy was one of them, covering her ears while trying to help Wendy cover her sensitive ears as well. When he was done, ears that Natsu's roar left ringing were silent, and Levy saw several people gathered try to rub their ears back into working order.

Levy just looked at Lucy and smirked.

Gajeel was wearing a similar smirk as he looked over at Natsu, nodding his head as if to say "You're welcome". Natsu for his part looked like he was in shock, and this made even Lucy smile.

While the run there had taken two minutes, the run back took less than one. "What in the _hell_ was that!?" he gasped out, standing between the two Dragon Slayers.

"Well Speedy, which was louder?" Gajeel asked, already knowing the answer.

"Are you- you're joking, right!?" Jet said. "Let's put it this way, the first roar scared some sheep at the edge of town. The second? Scared some sheep at the edge of_ the next town over_."

Levy had never seen anyone look as smug as Gajeel did in that moment as he turned to Natsu, practically puffed up with pride. "Ya' were saying earlier, Salamander? About beating me horribly? 'Cause I think I just won."

"N-No fair! I demand a retry!" Natsu yelled, quickly crossing the field to grab the front of Gajeel's shirt. "You cheated!"

"I suggest you let go," Gajeel said lowly, his smirk wide.

"A good mage knows when to accept defeat, my boy," Makarov said, still rubbing his ears as he came to the front of the crowd. "Accept yours before you end up starting a brawl on my yard, though it would be nice to see this useless patch of dirt used for it's intended purpose."

Natsu simply growled at Gajeel, his grip tightening for a moment before he let go and took a few steps back, the scowl gone and a pout in it's place. Happy flew over to his side, attempting to cheer the pouting Dragon Slayer up while Wendy raced into the clearing, Charle trailing after her.

"You're gonna teach me how to do that, right?" she asked Gajeel, her eyes lit up brightly, and the older Dragon Slayer grinned as he ruffled her hair.

"Well, that is that," Makarov said, and Levy wondered if it was her imagination that made her see the proud glint in the Master's eyes. His arm grew until he could hold Gajeel's arm up to the sky, like one would after winning a boxing match. "I give you, the Drake of the Fairy Tail Nest!"

The applause started out slow, but grew to a thundering roar that matched Gajeel's own easily in volume. Levy could see Juvia towards the front of the crowd, cheering the loudest with a huge grin and tears running down her cheeks. She saw Natsu turn back towards Gajeel after a few moments and grin just as brightly as he would had he been the winner. Wendy was just beaming, putting her tiny hand in Gajeel's own, and Gajeel…

Gajeel was looking towards the sky.

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_Next chapter is gonna be a little special, so look forward to that coming out soon! Also, I've got another fic in the works that I'm really looking forward to sharing with you, so keep an eye out for "_Coming Off the Page".

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_silv3rbloodalch3mist . tumblr . com_


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